This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article meets our high standards.

The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and validated that they work.
Learn more...

This wikiHow teaches you how to address and fix YouTube full-screen issues encountered in Google Chrome. These issues can range from a piece of your browser or desktop showing while in full-screen mode to full-screen functionality being disabled. Most of the time, restarting your browser or computer will fix the problem; if not, there are some settings you can tweak to prevent the full-screen error from occurring.

Steps

Method1

Using General Tips

1

Refresh the page. Sometimes a YouTube page will load incorrectly, causing graphical issues in the process. If this is the reason you're encountering a full-screen error, pressing the F5 key or clicking the "Refresh"

button will reload the YouTube page and fix the problem.

2

Try using full-screen mode while Chrome isn't maximized. If your Chrome window takes up the whole screen, it may show a small amount of the desktop when using YouTube in full-screen mode. You can fix this by clicking the box-shaped button in the upper-right corner of the window (Windows) or the green button in the top-left corner of the window (Mac) and then trying to use YouTube in full-screen mode.

3

Use Google Chrome's full-screen mode. If part of your desktop is showing while YouTube is in full-screen mode, press F11 (Windows) or ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+F (Mac) to place Google Chrome in full-screen mode. This may expand the YouTube window to fill the screen.

4

Close and re-open Chrome before trying again. In some cases, the full-screen error is caused by Google Chrome failing to load correctly; to fix this, close Chrome, then re-open it and go back to the video you were watching.

5

Restart your computer. If the last three options didn't work for you, turning off your computer and then turning it back on will usually fix YouTube's full-screen issues in Google Chrome.

This should fix the full-screen problem in most cases. If you try restarting your computer and find that the full-screen issue persists, try each of the following methods.

Method2

Uninstalling Themes

Click ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the Chrome window. A drop-down menu will appear.

3

Click Settings. This is in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Settings page.

4

Scroll down to the "Appearance" section. It's near the top of the Settings page, but you may need to scroll down slightly to see it.

5

Click Reset to default. This is to the right of the "Themes" heading. Doing so will remove any themes you've installed in Google Chrome.

6

Try using YouTube in full-screen mode. Go to your YouTube video and click the "full-screen" icon in the bottom-right corner of the player window. If an installed theme was causing your video's full-screen function to break, it should now work.

Method3

Disabling Extensions

1

Understand when to disable an extension. If you began noticing full-screen issues immediately after installing an extension, chances are that the extension is to blame. Disabling (not removing) the extension may fix the problem.

Chrome updates can also cause some older extensions to become unstable, which can result in unusual errors.

Click ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.

4

Select More tools. This is in the drop-down menu. Selecting it prompts a pop-out menu.

5

Click Extensions. It's at the top of the pop-out menu. Doing so opens the Extensions page.

6

Click the blue switch

below an extension. The switch will turn white

, signifying that the extension has been disabled.

Repeat this step for any other necessary extensions before proceeding.

7

Try using YouTube in full-screen mode. Once you've disabled any potentially problematic extensions (or all of your browser's extensions), go back to your video and click the "full-screen" icon in the bottom-right corner of the player. If an extension was causing the problem, the player should now be in full-screen with no problems.

Method5

Updating or Resetting Chrome

Click ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.

3

Select Help. This is near the bottom of the drop-down menu. Selecting it prompts a pop-out menu.

4

Click About Google Chrome. You'll find this in the pop-out menu.

5

Allow the update to install if prompted. If Chrome asks you to update, click Update Google Chrome and wait for the update to install.[1]

If Google Chrome is up to date, skip this step and the next one.

6

Click Relaunch when possible. Once the update finishes installing, you'll see this button. Clicking it closes and re-opens Chrome.

7

Try using YouTube in full-screen mode. Go back to your video and click the "full-screen" icon in the bottom-right corner of the player window. Your video should now play in full-screen mode.

If your video still isn't playing in full-screen mode, try one of the remaining steps in this method.

8

Reset Chrome to default settings. Removing default settings may fix the full-screen problem, though keep in mind it will also remove your current settings:

Click ⋮ in the top-right corner.

Click Settings.

Scroll down and click Advanced.

Scroll down and click Restore settings to their original defaults.

Click Reset settings when prompted.

9

Uninstall Google Chrome and then reinstall it. This will help you force a Chrome update if you know one is available but Chrome isn't updating.

You can reinstall Chrome by going to https://www.google.com/chrome/, clicking Download Chrome, clicking Accept and Install, double-clicking the downloaded setup file, and clicking through the on-screen prompts.

Whenever I am in fullscreen mode and move the mouse (so the youtube HUD appears) my screen goes black for a few seconds. The same thing happens every time a new line of subtitles show. What should I do?

References

Article Info

This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article meets our high standards.